2019 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 2: Start, Stash and Stream

Welcome to the first 2019 Fantasy Waiver Wire Start, Stash and Stream, where we break down the Free Agent landscape and give you the best picks for the short and long haul. I’m taking over for RedSocker this week, who may or may not have been named the new Boston GM thanks to his sterling fantasy baseball record.

Anyways, exactly like last year, think of this Waiver Wire set-up kind of like dating. In the first category, you’ve met “the one,” the love of your life, and you want to keep him/her forever. Those are your “Starts.”

Next, you have the person you’ve known for a while, but you find yourself asking: what are we? One week in, one week out, holding on for comfort and little else… they’re the “Stashes.” You just can’t quit them.

And then you have that Tinder date that serves a one-time purpose, most often leaving you feeling dirty and hopeless, but occasionally a solo home run. These are your “Streams.”

So let’s look back at Week 1 and see our prospects moving forward for the Week 2 Waiver Wire.

Note – Ownership % based on Yahoo

Start

Jamison Crowder, WR, New York Jets (49%)

Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens (32%)

DK Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks (38%)

Malcolm Brown, RB, Los Angeles Rams (13%)

Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Redskins (5%)

John Ross, WR, Cincinnati Bengals (11%)

Adrian Peterson, RB, Washington Redskins (38%)

Jamison Crowder sneaks his way into this article at somehow under 50% owned. Please confirm you’re not in one of these idiot leagues. If so, burn it all for him. He currently leads the NFL in targets (17), catching 14 of those for 99 yards. We called his “100+ catch upside” and it certainly appears to be the case here. Obviously, the volume won’t always be this high but he’s in line for a lot of attention as Gase’s “Next Jarvis Landry.”

Rookie receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brownmade the biggest splash at the start of the 1:00 games, catching 4 balls for 147 yards and 2 scores. He was separating like he was back at Oklahoma, and his speed gives Lamar Jackson a weapon to use downfield and unleash his arm. With Jackson looking completely reborn, Brown could make these monster games a regularity. The only concerning piece was that he was only on the field for 18% of the team’s offensive snaps… but he also looks like a Pop Warner player, so why keep him in and risk injury as a rag-doll run-blocker?

Seahawks receiver DK Metcalf actually played this week and was looked to more often than Tyler Lockett. He’s a freak athlete and is sure to eat up a big piece of what Doug Baldwin left behind, ultimately hauling in 4 of 6 targets for 89 yards.

Gurley owners out there are collectively shitting bricks seeing Malcolm Brown rush in not one, but TWO goal line touchdowns. With how good and explosive the Rams offense is, a GL role would skyrocket Brown’s value and create 12+ TD upside. He’s the clear-cut handcuff regardless, only narrowly outcarried 11-14.

Rookie WR Terry McLaurincame out firing and put a scare into Eagles fans/bettors early on, registering 5 catches for 125 yards and a TD on 7 targets. He looked very good in Washington’s offense and we might have severely underrated Keenum being able to get the ball to his receivers. The Redskins should find themselves in pass heavy game scripts often

*insert Undertaker gif here* John Ross is back from the virtual/fantasy dead as he exploded taking the top off the Seahawks secondary. 12 targets, 7 catches and 158 yards and 2 scores. His speed was always off the charts and now with AJ Green injured and Zac Taylor coaching, this might be exactly what Ross needs to truly become the first round talent he was drafted as

Adrian Peterson was a healthy scratch in Week 1, but he’ll be suiting up as the lead back in Week 2 with Derrius Guice shelved. Chris Thompson will still draw targets in the passing game but AP should get majority of the carries for the next few weeks.

Stash

Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals (14%)

Ronald Jones, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (28%)

Chris Thompson, RB, Washington Redskins (13%)

Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs (15%)

Danny Amendola, WR, Detroit Lions (6%)

Trey Quinn, WR, Washington Redskins (1%)

AJ Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans (3%)

Randall Cobb, WR, Dallas Cowboys (10%)

DJ Chark, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (2%)

Chris Conley, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars (1%)

Raheem Mostert, RB, San Francisco 49ers (1%)

Phillip Dorsett, WR, New England Patriots (4%)

Deon Cain, WR, Indianapolis Colts (0%)

Joe Mixon went down with an ankle sprain in Week 1 leaving Gio Bernard as the every-down RB for Cincinnati. Mixon is day-to-day and seems likely to return, but Bernard is a solid stash to have if Mixon gets hurt again. Plus, the team even has said prior they want Bernard more involved in the offense this season.

CJay’s favorite playerRonald Jones actually looked……..good? (shocked face). He looked far more explosive than Peyton Barber racking up 93 total yards as compared to Barber’s typical bleh 33 yards. RoJo could be tightening his grip on the Bucs lead back role.

Chris Thompson played a big role in the Redskins offense with Guice hurt, AP shelved, and the Redskins playing catchup. Guice’s extended absence will open the door for more Thompson usage and receptions for Washington.

It looks like Tyreek Hill is going to miss significant time and if he does, Mecole Hardman will be his likely replacement. Sammy Watkins will be the man on the perimeter, but Hardman will be Pat Mahomes’ deep threat, and gets a juicy matchup versus the Raiders.

Danny Amendola was added to the Lions this offseason and his presence was noted right away under old coach Matt Patricia with a whopping 13 targets, 7 catches, 104 yards and a score. Patricia’s well-aware of the damage ‘Dola, who was labeled Stafford’s “safety blanket,” can do from the slot. This could become regular.

Plenty of receivers in this grouping here flourished in Week 1 that aren’t exactly guys you’re plugging into your starting lineup, but rather holding onto to find out if they were for real.

Stream

Carolina Panthers, D/ST (6%)

Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills (32%)

Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions (26%)

Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals (10%)

Tennessee Titans, D/ST (8%)

Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans (8%)

As far as streamers go, the Carolina Panthers D/ST could be a very nice play next week on TNF with the human turnover Jameis Winston coming to town. He looked AWFUL and threw three picks, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Carolina will be hungry for a win to avoid starting 0-2 and should have a big advantage.

Some notable QBs you can add to play if necessary: Josh Allen led a nice comeback win and continues to get extra points with his legs. He gets the Giants D that Dak Prescott just carved up for 405 and 4 TDs… Fresh off 385 yards, MatthewStafford looked reborn with new toys in Amendola and rookie TE TJ Hockenson. Detroit plays the Los Angeles Chargers next week sans Derwin James... Chucking the rock 51 times for 418 yards, Andy Dalton looked surprisingly good with QB-whisperer Zac Taylor calling the shots in this revamped “McVay” offense. The emergence of John Ross really opens up the top of the defense for big play potential, and Dalton could really take off once Green returns.

Tennessee was one of the biggest surprises of Week 1 with both their defensive play and QB Marcus Mariota. At home against Jacoby Brissett and the Colts in Week 2, the both Mariota and Titans D/ST could be useful if needed.

Bottom Line: Pass-catching specialist, who? Christian McCaffrey returned to his college workhorse roots under new OC Norv Turner, and quickly put up Fantasy MVP-worthy numbers. He continued to flash his otherworldly receiving abilities, hauling in an NFL record 106 catches for 875 yards and 6 TDs. Yet where the usage really rose was the carries, as McCaffrey nearly doubled his 2017 total for 215 carries, 1080 yards, and 7 scores. These 321 total touches ranked third behind only Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkley, and this newfound volume created the ultimate ceiling / floor combination. In the process, McCaffrey flashed both the elusiveness, breakaway ability, and most shockingly underrated power to redefine the workhorse model.

​New OC Norv Turner deserves immense credit for this outburst. His previous work with LaDanian Tomlinson proved he wasn't afraid to ride a smaller-back, as he's able to scheme his guys in space and in creative outside gaps versus just blasting them up the gut... but even still, never before had an NFL back played nearly 97% of the team's snaps. Yes, this number inevitably will fall in 2019, but McCaffrey should still hover around 85-90%, especially with Turner returning. Expect a similar buffet of weekly volume with the upside for even more efficiency should the Panthers beef up their line while their explosive young wideouts take a next step forward.

Ceiling Projection: 320 touches (100 rec.), 2,000 Tot. Yds, 13 TDs

Floor Projection*: 270 touches (70 rec.), 1600 Tot. Yds, 7 TDs

Actual Projection: 310 touches (90 rec), 1900 Tot. Yds, 12 TDs

*Note - Floors are done without injuries in mind. Of course the lowest floor is torn ACL first play of scrimmage. This assumes 16 games

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About JimboSlice

THE Inaugural 2016 RSJ Fantasy Football League Champion. Owner of a #bigbrain, and lover of football, baseball and college hoops. When not grinding for the RSJ, can be found captaining his beer league softball team.